Oriental

A Golden, Shimmering Sunset – Mona di Orio Oud Perfume Review

Golden Sunset

Oud is the latest addition to Mona di Orio’s Les Nombres d’Or collection, which focuses on creating perfumes centred around a single note in an intelligent and creative way. The fragrances within the collection are; Oud, Vanille, Tubereuse, Vetyver, Musc, Ambre and Cuir. The names may lead you to think that these fragrances are typical, single note scents, but that is far from the truth, each one is very much a composition with an interesting take on the eponymous note.

Les Nombres d’Or

“Seven sensational yet easy, relaxed fragrances from the Mistress of Perfumery.

Inspired by the ancient aesthetic theory of the Golden Ratio, Mona has created a suite of eaux de parfumss which have all her signature notes of glamour, mystery and romance but which are constructed with with the ultimate luxury of classic simplicity.” [1]

Oud in particular has received a lot of positive hype in the perfume blogosphere since it’s release earlier this year. Enthusiastic reviews from the likes of Olfactoria’s Travels and Eyeliner on a Cat, bloggers who’s opinion I hold in high esteem, had raised my hopes for this scent and I couldn’t wait to make my merry little way across to Les Senteurs in London to try it.

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Clash of the Titans – Serge Lutens Muscs Koublaï Khän vs Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur Perfume Reviews

Animalistic

As Autumn and Winter draw in, it becomes time for us Perfumistas to have a wardrobe reshuffle. We put away our lighter, airier perfumes and drag out our rich orientals, warm woody florals, mouthwatering gourmands and our musks. In autumn and winter we look for those fragrances that bring us comfort when it’s cold and those that match the colours and festivities of the cooler seasons.

Muscs Koublaï Khän (Serge Lutens) and Musc Ravageur (Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle) are two of the most popular musk fragrances on the market, in fact they have reached cult status amongst Perfumistas and love them or hate them, nobody can deny that they are both formidable characters.

Despite the fact that they are both so popular and are both musk fragrances, Muscs Koublaï Khän and Musc Ravageur are two very different fragrances, in fact the similarity stops with the ‘Musc’ in both of their names. In this review I’m going to put pitch these two ‘Titans’ head to head to see which will be the victor and earn the accolade of ‘King of Musks’.

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Love at First Sniff – Tom Ford Violet Blonde Perfume Review

Violet Blonde

I like Tom Ford, I find the overall aesthetic of his brand appealing, I thought A Single Man was a triumph for a first time director and he may just be the most ridiculously good looking man on the planet (a fact that makes me hate him just a little). My thoughts on Tom Ford’s perfumes however, aren’t as glowing, in fact they are quite mixed;

Private Blends: I’ve always thought that the Private Blends are OK, I even quite like one or two (Oud Wood especially) but they are ridiculously overpriced for what they are, thus causing my general opinion of them to simply be ‘meh’.

Black Orchid: Gorgeous, dark oriental that is great for half an hour but then it proceeds to get on my tits, it’s one of those scents that, whilst smelling fantastic, takes a lot of effort to wear. I have to be in the right mood for Black Orchid.

White Patchouli: I wanted to love White Patchouli, you don’t know how much I wanted to, the bottle would look so good in my collection and the ad campaign with Erykah Badu was STUN-NING, BUT I point blank refuse to wear anything that smells like French Onion Soup. That said, I haven’t given up on it just yet.

Tom Ford For Men: My boyfriend/fiancée/long suffering wife’s signature scent. What more can I say?

Grey Vetiver: A really nice barbershop vetiver BUT why bother with that when you could have Guerlain Vetiver? One vetiver is enough for me.

Black Orchid Voile de Fleur: Surprisingly, this short-lived flanker to Black Orchid is the best of the bunch, creamy, dirty and slightly spicy flowers, right up my street!

Violet Blonde is the latest fragrance to join Black Orchid and White Patchouli as part of Tom Ford’s ‘Signature Collection’. I guess you’re now thinking, ‘I know what you think of the others, but what about Violet Blonde? Well, to put it simply; Violet Blonde was love at first sniff.

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Eat Me – Thierry Mugler Alien Le Goût du Parfum Perfume Review

Eat Me

“Pure Fumegasm”

I’ve said before that Thierry Mugler is one brand that always thinks intelligently about their flankers and their latest series of limited editions ‘Le Goût du Parfum’ is absolutely no exception to this rule. 

The concept behind Le Goût du Parfum (The Taste of Fragrance) is simple – take the already bold, and mostly gourmand structures of four Thierry Mugler scents (Angel, Alien, Womanity and A*Men) and add a ‘Taste Enhancer’ to each. Le Goût du Parfum creates “a genuine parallel between Haute Cuisine and Haute Parfumerie.” To achieve this parallel Mugler enlisted leading Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze to create an “entirely Muglerian Meal” based on these four new limited editions.

WARNING: THIS POST WILL MAKE YOU HUNGRY 

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Reaching for the Brillo Pads – Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Chérie par Camille Perfume Review

BrilloMon Parfum Chérie par Camille is the latest fragrance release from the luxury french perfume house Annick Goutal. I’ve tried a few of the Goutal scents over the years and whilst I find most of them to be high quality, I am yet to discover the one that gives me the warm and fuzzies and as you can probably tell by the title of this post, Mon Parfum Chérie par Camille fails to impress.

The story behind Mon Parfum Chérie par Camille is as follows:

“As Annick Goutal dedicated the Petite Chérie perfume to her daughter, now it is Camille’s turn to honour the eternal beauty of her mother. It all started with a unique present preciously stored away in their office : a small concrete that the author Colette gave to Annick Goutal. A woody, timeless fragrance that has survived decades with no signs of aging. Camille, obsessed with this unusual fragrance, was drawu back to her childhood memories of Hollywood’s wartime movies. Tempting satin. Delicate lace. Actresses and their gloved hands and ruby lips. And a memory of her mother dressing for an evening out…

A name to remember her by, Mon Parfum Chérie, Par Camille.” [1]

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Gone, But Not Forgotten Series Part 2: Beautiful Androgyny – Yves Saint Laurent Nu Perfume Review

Hurricane Grace

To me, Grace Jones is the Queen/King of androgyny, she tiptoes the line between masculine and feminine so perfectly and either way she is absolutely striking to look at. Like Ms Jones, Nu is androgynous, it is neither wholly masculine, feminine or unisex, it creates its own rules about gender and takes facets from both sexes.

I have no idea which fragrance(s) Ms Jones wears but if I were to pick a perfume just for her, I would pick Nu.

Nu (this review refers to the Eau de Parfum) was released in 2001 and was created by Jacques Cavallier under the art direction of Tom Ford. I mentioned in my review of Gucci Rush that everything Tom Ford did whilst at Gucci, YSL and Lauder was pretty much epic, and I stand by that. With Nu, he and Jacques Cavallier created something unique and way ahead of its time.

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A Recipe for Success – DSquared2 Potion Perfume Review

Potion

DSquared2 is a brand that is well known for their fashion NOT for their perfumes. I don’t have much experience with the line (I have only tried He Wood and the less said about that the better) but what I do know is that each of their perfumes has an awful clanger of a name, they include; He Wood, She Wood and He Wood Rocky Mountain Wood….

Yes, those truly awful names, and a bad experience with He Wood led me to believe that I wouldn’t like Potion, in fact I was prepared to actively dislike it. So imagine my surprise when a chance encounter with a sample would reveal that this Potion, isn’t half bad at all.

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The Daytime Angel – Thierry Mugler Angel Eau de Toilette Perfume Review

Angel

“Angel Eau de Toilette is still a diva but she is Angel before she puts on her drag queen make up and high heels, she is the daytime Angel, just as fabulous and dramatic but less likely to throw a tantrum.”

When I first read the news that the Thierry Mugler brand was releasing an Eau de Toilette version of their infamous flagship fragrance Angel, my first thought was ‘I’m surprised they haven’t done one already.’ Well it’s taken nearly 20 years, but Mugler has finally decided to launch a lighter version of the heavy oriental gourmand.

Along with the launch of the new Eau de Toilette, and it’s fabulous new ‘comet bottle’ Mugler has created a brand new television and print campaign for both versions, starring Eva Mendes. I’m probably not supposed to say this, because I like Naomi Watts as an actress, but she just didn’t suit being the face of Angel, so I’m very glad that the sultry Eva Mendes is now fronting the campaign for my favourite Diva.

Now, Angel fans, I can sense that you are perhaps feeling a little uneasy and even slightly sceptical about this new release, after all why would you want a lighter version of Angel? She’s perfect just as she is. Well if you’re anything like me, you love Angel but on some days she’s just a little bit too much, and you can’t be doing with all of her diva antics all day long, every single day. You’ll be relieved to know that Angel Eau de Toilette is faithful to the original and what Mugler has done is create a more ‘everyday’ version of Angel that can be worn to the office/school/park/(insert everyday place here) without terrifying people

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A Truly ‘Noir’ Fragrance – By Kilian Back to Black (Aphrodisiac) Perfume Review

Dita Von Teese

I have started a love affair with By Killian, the line of perfumes that is, not the man himself (although he is rather dashing). Having been introduced to the line only a few weeks ago, I have found myself spending lots of time pouring over my samples, oohing and ahhing each time I spray one on my skin.

So far I’ve only had very limited exposure to the line (a total of five) and out of the ones I have tried, Back to Black is by far my favourite. Back to Black is everything a perfume should be; complex, high quality, long lasting and most of all – dramatic.

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Uncle Serge Baffles Us Once Again – Serge Lutens Vitriol d’Oeillet Perfume Review

Carnations

I’ve had a vase of purple carnations sat in my hallway for about two weeks now, they are suitably cheerful and they smell spicy and gorgeous. The problem with carnations is that they tend to hang around. Yes, they’re very beautiful but I’m at the point where I want them to move along so that I can refresh the vase with something else.

This is also how I feel about Vitriol d’Oeillet.

Serge Lutens has described Vitriol d’Oeillet as an ‘angry carnation’ and on the Serge Lutens website the description simply says “What is it, Doctor Jekyll?” [1] These descriptions lead me to believe that my tiny spray vial was going to unleash a huge, evil carnation monster that was going to eat me and ransack my house. A little farfetched I know, but I do have an active imagination.

What did come flying out of my little spray vial was something completely unexpected; A pretty and realistic spicy bunch of carnations. Just like the ones currently lurking in my hallway.

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